Mission Organization: Cloth Diaper Storage

When I began cloth diapering seven months ago, I had two little ones in diapers. My oldest son, Ian, was 26 months old, and my youngest, Brendan, was 3 months old. After much research into the world of cloth diapering, and the multitude of options I found, I chose to begin with a stash of 24 one size Bum Genius 3.0 pocket diapers. These diapers fit both boys, and easily stacked into my existing diaper stacker that hung on the wall of the nursery. After a few months had past, my two year old began to outgrow the bumGenius diapers. Refusing to go back to disposables, I added 6 Large Thirsties Fab Fitted diapers and 3 Thirsties Covers to my stash. Now that I had 24 diapers for my infant, and only six for my toddler, I found myself doing laundry every day, thus the need for more large diapers. I preferred the pocket style diaper over the fitted diaper, so over the course of the next few weeks, I purchased 12 Large Fuzzi Bunz to get my toddler through potty training.

As you might imagine, I could no longer fit all the diapers into my diaper stacker. I found myself stashing diapers in any and every empty drawer I could find…not the best method of organization when I searching for a diaper with a wet, wiggly child on my hands. At about the same time, I ran across a fabulous idea for cloth diaper storage on a pregnancy and parenting forum that I regularly post on. This cloth diapering momma had purchased a toy storage unit with individual plastic bins, and instead of putting toys in the bins, she stored her diapers in it. I had the exact same storage unit in my son’s room, so I found new homes for his various toys, and moved it into the closet in the nursery. The diapers fit perfectly, and there is a bin for each diaper style, as well as accessories such as inserts, doublers and my cloth wipes.

To save time during diaper changes, I stuff all of my pocket diapers after washing them, and then separate the ones with overnight hemp inserts by using a specific color diaper. This makes it easy for anyone (my husband, babysitter, grandma etc.) to differentiate the different types of diapers without having to peak inside the pocket. Not only has this diaper organization worked well for us, but I also get to enjoy looking at all of the cute fluff each and every time I go into the nursery to change a diaper.

30 comments:

The toy storage with bins is an excellent idea! This is a great way to view everything without having to open any drawers… Not that I personally mind opening my changing table drawer or my “fluff cart” drawers but this is an great way for someone who really prefers to see-grab-and-go (essentially – this is daddy friendly). =)

I truly like seeing how everyone else organizes. We can all help one another get a little bit of composure in the cloth diapering stashes across America (and elsewhere too).

So neat and orderly… but best of all, colorful! I enjoy stacking our dipes outside of the bins in the shelving unit I use bc then I get to see a rainbow of colors! And, of course, I’ve already filled the bins with other misc. baby items- socks, bibs, burp cloths.

What a great idea! I have that same storage unit but it’s filled with toys. Right now my system is ok and works for us. I know where everything is, since the changing table is in the bathroom I try to keep all the diapers with it but it’s limited on space so I have to be creative with organization which I am still learning how to do.

I to stuff right after washing it’s so much easier. And we have all of our night time diapers ready to go.

I agree with Serena it’s nice to see how everyone else organizes. It can give us new idea’s.

Very nice! My system works well for me now, but if I were to acquire any more diapers, I would probably need to switch to a different system. I also pre-stuff my diapers and have a certain color that are stuffed for night time. Except one time my husband accidentally put one of the night time ones on my daughter. She had such a bubble butt, it was so funny!

What a great idea! I like how the bins are tilted up for easy access. You can also see how pretty the colors are. Hmmm…I may need to get different baskets for my diapers so that they show!Thanks for the great ideas!

What a rainbow of colors! Now that I am getting organized I have to get more of a rainbow in my stash. The ideas from this weeks posts are terrific. In fact, this organization theme has prompted me to start going thru the house! Thanks ladies!

I am at where you were at at the beginning. I have 2 in diapers and I have very few diapers. I do laundry everyday. Because of that, I only have two baskets with diapers in them. I have all one size pockets and since I change the rise on the diapers, etc, I do not stuff the diapers after they are washed. I leave the diapers and inserts separate.

I love this organization system. I wish I had a little more room in our closets. We are lucky to have big rooms but little closets. I might have to do some rethinking of my organization to be able to do something more like this in a few months.

Just out of curiosity: is anyone still using prefolds on a regular basis? I really need more diapers, but our budget is, well, you know… So, I thought I might try the prefolds. For those who use PF, do you like it? Which covers do you use? Is it mission impossible to use PF on a wiggly-I-hate-diaper-change 10 month old?

Store all our diapers in the drawers in the entertainment center under our tv. I keep all our fitteds, pfs, covers, and doublers in the top drawer and all the AIOs, stuffed pockets, wipes, and creams in the bottom drawer. The bottom drawer is the only one I need to show to sitters/grandparents and the top drawer is more what my husband and I use. I love the toy bin idea though so you can see all the cute diapers! With my next child I’m going to have to come up with something different, I may do that!

Cecile – my friend Liza, who commented earlier, uses primarily PF’s and covers on her 10 month old, so to answer your question, yes, it can be done. I think she uses Bummis covers. I’ll see if I can track her down to leave a comment and tips for you.

Glad to see I’m not the only one who organizes by colour! My system is very similar, although I have everything on the change table. I use all different kinds of diapers so I have different baskets for night-time diapers, fitteds, prefolds etc. Daddy knows where his pile of “easy” diapers will be and I know that I have to do a wash when the basket of night-time diapers gets low.

Cecile – I went to your blog to leave you a comment, but you don’t have any entries to comment on! And I wanted to send you an email, but I can’t find an email to send you one! I hope you come back and read this!

I have a 10.5mo old son who is a wiggle-worm, but I still manage to use prefolds on him. He is about 22lbs and still finds into the red edge GMD, though that’s getting a bit tight. I’ve discovered that if I am trying to change him on the floor, it’s near impossible to put a prefold on him, but if he is on the changing table, he doesn’t wiggle as much. He’s pretty interested in grabbing his feet, or I giev him a small toy to play with to keep his hands busy.

I use a very simple fold for him. I’m not exactly sure what this style of fold is called, but pretty much I lay the pf open under him, fold the front part of both sides into a trifold, keeping the back still open and flat under his bum, pull the trifold up between his legs to his belly and spread the top out enough so that the snappi reaches and covers the prefold. I think this is some form of the angel fold, but I don’t know. It is quick and easy to do, once you get the hang of it. If you have any questions, please email me or come to my blog and leave me a comment, I’d love to be able to explain this better than in a comment!

Yeah! Thanks for such a great idea. I don't have one of these storage units but I am going to start looking. I'm not too impressed with the amount of space they are taking up in baby's dresser right now!